Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has challenged Noni Madueke to continue working hard and pushing himself to achieve more, despite a strong performance in Chelsea’s 5-1 victory over Southampton.
Madueke, who had only scored once since August, found the back of the net with a well-taken angled shot and provided an assist for Christopher Nkunku during the match at St Mary’s. However, Maresca believes the England international can do much more.
“Noni can do much more,” Maresca said. “The moment he starts to score or assist and is happy, he starts to drop a little bit. The reason he wasn’t playing before is because I didn’t like the way he trained. He has to understand that he must train well every day. *He needs to be ambitious. He scored one tonight, but he has to go for the second and third. *He has to give more assists.”
While Maresca acknowledged Madueke’s overall improvement, especially in terms of his numbers, he emphasized the need for consistency and further development. “He is doing great and fantastic, but Noni has to understand that he has to work more because he can be much, much better,” he added.
Chelsea’s attacking quartet against Southampton included Madueke, Joao Felix, Cole Palmer, and Nkunku, with Maresca making seven changes from the team that defeated Aston Villa. The substitutions highlighted depth of Maresca’s squad, with Pedro Neto, Nicolas Jackson, and Jadon Sancho all starting on the bench.
The manager further reinforced the competition within the squad, stating, “We have four wingers that are all very good. Pedro and Noni for the right side, Jadon and Misha [Mykhailo Mudryk] for the left side. If one of them drops for any reason, there’s someone ready to step in.”
He added, “Noni is not allowed to drop because Pedro is there and doing fantastic. If Pedro drops, then Noni is there. They need to understand this if we want to stay close to something important.”
Chelsea’s dominant victory over Southampton saw them remain in second place in the Premier League, seven points behind leaders Liverpool. Their next challenge is a trip to Tottenham on Sunday.
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